Monday, October 31, 2016

Hillary Clinton's Secretary Of State?

Reports have it that Hillary Clinton is considering Joe Biden for secretary of state in her administration. The bench of popular, high profile Democrats isn't exactly deep these days and Biden has always been particularly interested in foreign policy, so on a superficial level recruiting Biden for the State Department makes sense.

Or it least it does if you're willing to ignore the fact that Biden's recent track record on foreign policy is catastrophic. I would encourage you to read this New York Times report on Biden's efforts early in the Obama administration to create a stable Iraq. Eyebrow-raising incompetence abounds, but the key bit is Biden's role in negotiating a Status of Forces Agreement that would allow the U.S. to maintain a significant military presence in Iraq:

Mr. Biden also predicted that the Americans could work out a deal with a government led by Mr. Maliki. "Maliki wants us to stick around because he does not see a future in Iraq otherwise," Mr. Biden said. "I'll bet you my vice presidency Maliki will extend the SOFA," he added, referring to the Status of Forces Agreement the Obama administration hoped to negotiate.

Suffice to say, a Status of Forces Agreement was not reached, nor did Joe Biden resign from the White House over his failure to negotiate an agreement. ...